Sorting apparatus



P 1951 M. w. KREMER ETAL 2,549,316

SORTING APPARATUS Filed April 24. 1948 lnven lror MeFL'e W. Kremev, Woodrow W. Helge,

Then A t tovney.

Patented Apr. 17, 1 951 2,549,315 son'rmo APPARATUS Merle W. Kremer, Cleveland Heights, and Woodrow W. Heigle, Cleveland, Ohio, assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application April 24, 19 18, Serial No. 23,118

4 Claims.

Our invention relates to inspection apparatus are defective in that they have loose or unwelded sections. The apparatus of our invention is particularly useful for separating out the incomplete wires and can be used to advantage directly with the weld-making apparatus or in conunction with other manufacturing apparatus which incorporates said wires into component parts of the lamps or tubes.

One object of our invention is to materially reduce the expense and eliminate human error in the inspection of bulk groupings of short wires comprised of two or more sections welded in end to-end relation and of different diameter. The inspection operation involves the separation of wires having a particular number of sections and, therefore, a certain balance, from defective shorter wires of a lesser number of parts, regardless of which parts the shorter wires are comprised. These shorter, incomplete wires have heretofore been separated from the acceptable composite wires by manual inspection methods which have been unsatisfactory because of the cost and the detailed and tedious nature thereof Another object of our invention is to provide apparatus for automatically separating from a grouping of acceptable wires having portions varying in diameter those unacceptable wires that have either a diameter less than that of the largest portion of the acceptable Wire or a upon which the largest diameter portion of the, composite Wire can rock as the weight of the.

smaller diameter portion swings it down therebetween. Apparatus for separating out unacceptable wires in the above manner is particularly adapted to inspect groupings of two and three part composite leading-in wires used in the manufacture of radio tubes and lamps.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will appear in the detailed description which follows of the species thereof shown, in the drawing.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of apparatus comprising ou invention; Fig, 2 is a side elevation of said apparatus; and Fig. 3 is section through a few of the separation rods along line 33 of Fig. 2 on a larger scale; and Fig. 4 is an elevation of a portion of several of the said separation rods.

The species of our apparatus appearing in the drawing receives a steady supply of wires to be inspected from the chute l which is located over the right-hand end thereof (Figs. 1 and 2) and by its operation causes acceptable three-part butt-welded wires 2 to drop in corresponding end-for-end relation, into the shipping carton 3 below the left-hand end thereof. All two-part, single-part and improperly proportioned Wires collect behind the door 4 at the bottom of the chute 5 midway along the near side of the apparatus.

The wires to be inspected fall from the chute I to the inclined bed 6 which is located above the right-hand end of the hopper 1, and are gradually shaken to positions between the rods 8 comprising said bed 6 and, if possible, down the inclined paths formed between the rods 8 by the constant vibrating motion to which the entire apparatus is subjected. The rods 8 are mounted at opposite ends on the cross members 9 and [0 which bridge the hopper 1 and are disposed as shown in Fig. 3 at a fixed spacing that allows all parts of the wires being inspected, except the largest H, to fall through slots 8' defined by adjacent rods. This manner of mounting the rods 8 causes the vibrations of the hopper 1, which is attached directly to the saddle I2 of a commercial electric vibrator l3, to agitate the wires to such an extent that they gradually separate from each other and shift about within the confines of the bed 6 and the enclosure [4 extending along the end and both sides thereof, to a properly orientated position between adjacent pairs of rods 8. The vibrations have a period corresponding to the 60 cycle current supplied to the inductance coil I5 which is mounted on the base l6 of the vibrator l3 and have a direction perpendicular to the leaf springs l7-l1 by which the saddle l2 of said vibrator I3 is supported on the base it thereof. The amplitude of the vibrations, which are just discernible to the eye, is sufficient to cause the wires to shift about and to slide down the oppositely sloping surfaces presented by the rods 8 to the space therebetween. Means are provided by the pins or protuberances [8 located at random intervals along the upper sides of the rods 8 to assure the alignment of all wires therewith before they have traveled down the bed 6 to a position beyond the extent of the enclosure M. Y

As shown in Fig. 3, an acceptable three-part wire 2 takes an upright position between a pair of adjacent rods 8 since the portion of largest diameter cannot fall therebetween and the weight of the smaller diameter, but longer, portions 19 and 2!), which pass freely therebetw'een, is sufiicient to swing the entire wire 2 to vertical position. Any wire consisting only of one or both of the smaller diameter portions i9 and 2 passes between the pairs of rods 8 and is caught on the bottom of the hopper l which also has'a slight inclination causing the wires to move to the left and thence through the opening 2-! and into the chute 5. The angular position of the partition "22 causes it to gather in the wires moving along the bottom of the hopper l and direct them toward the opening 2| in the wall of said hopper 1.

When a wire comprised only of the portion II of largest diameter, or of said portion l and the next adjacent portion it, falls into the space between adjacent rods 8 it will assume a subs'tantially horizontal position in alignment with the rods and will continue to be supported thereby. Posts 23 depending from each of the rods 8 at two points along their length are joined by cross bars 24 spaced below the rods '8 so as to be cleared by "acceptable wires 2 and'serve to assure the desired spacing and functioning of said rods 8. Accordingly, both the acceptable three-part wires 2 and the unacceptable wires, including the unwelded portions H of largest diameter, continue to move down the paths formed by the rods 8 and finally beyond the partition 22 to the adjacent portion of the hopper 1.

In the succeeding course of the movement, all the wires including the'la-rgest diameter portion H almost immediately come into position opposite notched portions 25 ofthe rods 8 which'in effect widen the spacing therebetw'een for very short intervals of their length. As shown in Fig. 3, which is a section through the rods 8 at these notched portions 25, the spacing between the rods 8 at these notched portions is so great that the j'acceptable three-part wires 2, which are in an upright position, pass therebetween and drop onto the portion of the hopper 1 below. Other wires consisting only of the largest'portion l l, or of portions H and 69, he parallel to the rods 8 and, hav'inga length more than twice'the width of the notched portions 25, move over said notched portions with little or no interruption in their motion. The rear edges or shoulders '26 of the notched portions of the rods 8 are sloped or beveled 'to permit any wires entering the notches, but not fallinginto the hopper L'to work themselves back onto a still lower portion or" the rodst.

In certain instances two o more acceptable three-part wires or another unacceptable wire arrivetogether at the first notched portion along the rods 8 so that interference develops to the proper passage of the acceptable wire between the notched portions. In such instances the wires move further along the rods 8 and finally,

. the chute 5.

The acceptablethree-part wires 2 falling onto the hopper '1 are caused to move toward the left end thereof by the continuing vibration and slope of the hopper bottom. The course of movement of these wires 2 under the trough 21, which is located above the bottom of the hopper I, and thence against the upright Y-shaped guideway 29 thereon which directs them into the three holes 30. The diameter of the holes '30 is Just large enough to allow the wire 2 to tip and fall therein when the end comprised of the heavy larger diameter portion H passes over one of the holes. An oppositely orientated wire 2 having the smallerdiameter portions 19 and Zllove'r the holes-30 does not fall thereinto as an unsupported length thereof equal to the diameter of the holes 30 is not suflicient to 'tip said wire 2. Accordingly all of the wires 2 fall in a correspondingly orientated manner through the funne'l'3l and into the packing carton 3.

All of the incomplete wires collect at the bottom of the chute 5 which canbe emptied as required by means of the door '4. sure against the top of the door 4 swings it about the hinge'p'in 32 against the action of the tor sion spring 33 and allows the wires trapped therein to slide out 'thesloping bottom of the chute '5.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters'Patent of the United States is:

1. Apparatus for sorting completed cylindrical articles such as'composite lead-in wires havingend sections of different diameter and weight, the smaller-diameter sections being heavier than the larger-diameter sections, "from incompleted articles constituted of one or the other such sections, said apparatus comprising an inclined bed portion comprising a plurality of parallel elongated cylindrical rods arranged in side-by-side relation, adjacent rods being spaced apart a dis tance intermediate the diameters of the larger and smaller sections of said articles to form slots therebetween whereby completed articles will up-' end themselves in said slots and move downward therealong whileloose smaller-diameter sections will fall through said slots and loose larger-diameter sections will lie flat between said rods and move downward therealong p'ortions of said rods at a plurality of points adjacent to but spaced from their lower ends being circumferentially notched to provide enlargements in the slots therebetween, each of said enlargements having a width-greater than the diameter ofsaid larger.

section of said article and a length less than half that of said larger section of said article whereby the upright completed articles will drop downward through the enlargements while the loose larger-diameter sections will pass over'the enlargements to the lower ends of the rods, and means for supporting and vibrating said bedportion.

2. Apparatus asset forth in claim 1 wherein the upper sides of 'saidrods are provided with'a plurality of upstanding peg-like 'protuberances Manual pres- D which are engaged by articles moving along the upper surfaces of said rods in transverse relationship thereto whereby to orient said articles into the spaces between said rods.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein those shoulders of said notches which are located toward the lower ends of the rods are beveled to permit articles entering a notch but failing to drop therethrough to work themselves back up into the slot beyond said notch.

4. Apparatus for sorting completed cylindrical articles such as composite lead-in wires havingend sections of difierent diameter and weight, the smaller-diameter sections being heavier than the larger-diameter sections, from incompleted articles constituted of one or the other such sections, said apparatus comprising an inclined bed portion comprising a plurality of parallel elongated cylindrical rods arranged in side-by-side relation, adjacent rods being spaced apart a distance intermediate the diameters of the larger and smaller sections of said articles to form slots therebetween whereby completed articles will upend themselves in said slots and move downward therealong While loose smaller-diameter sections will fall through said slots and loose larger-diameter sections Will lie fiat between said rods and move downward therealong, portions of said rods at a plurality of points adjacent to but spaced from their lower ends being notched to provide enlargements in the slots therebetween, each of said enlargements having a width greater than the diameter of said larger section of said article and a length less than half that of said larger section of said article whereby the upright completed articles will drop downward through the enlargements while the loose largerdiameter sections will pass over the enlargements to the lower ends of the rods, a hopper, means supporting said bed portion in said hopper above the bottom thereof, a partition extending along the bottom of said hopper transversely of the said bed portion and adjacent the notched portions of said rods to segregate the loose smalldiameter wire sections from the acceptable articles, a trough extending transversely across the lower end of said bed portion above the bottom of the hopper to collect the loose larger-diameter wire sections falling from the end of said bed portion, and means for supporting and vibrating said hopper and bed portion.

MERLE W. KREMER.

WOODRO'W W. I-EEIGLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 746.011 Burk Dec. 8, 1903 1,381,240 Pope June 14, 1921 1,618,500 Willcox Feb. 22, 1927 2,186,652 Orth et a1. Jan. 9, 1940 2,320,227 Frey May 25, 1943 2,356,295 Yost Aug. 22, 1944 2,446,320 Andrews Aug. 3, 1948 2,501,403 McKinsey Mar. 21, 1950 

